THE KENYAN TEXTILE AND FASHION INDUSTRY

Recent developments, however, with the Trans-
Pacific Partnership (TPP), may again erode the
African cost advantage. Vietnam, which U.S.
buyers view as a top-tier competitor of SSA countries,
9 is a signatory to TPP, while Thailand and the
Philippines are in talks to potentially join at a later
date. This next-generation disruption of the sourcing
landscape is an important risk to consider when
investing behind African apparel manufacturing.
Additionally, with the increased emphasis on
speed and costs in the value chain, countries that
are able to source inputs locally have a substantial
edge in attracting business, and moreover command
a higher proportion of the overall margin in
the manufacturing process. While CMT can easily
move and go to any country with a cheap needle,
the presence of vertically integrated textiles
manufacturing, and a variety of widely-available
local fabrics, gives countries an edge. First of all,
they save money on transportation costs when
they can source locally, rather than shipping from
abroad. Secondly, they are able to offer much
faster turnaround times, since they avoid customs
and shipping delays and the substantial lead time
that accompanies overseas fabric purchases.
Countries that can provide end-to-end services
therefore have an advantage in today’s market.
Finally, there is a slow but steady technological
revolution in the garment industry. Today, being
highly responsive to email and electronic invoicing
is table stakes to do business with global
brands. Buyers have historically struggled with
poor responsiveness from factories in Kenya,
which has made them less likely to initiate or continue
doing business with factories in the country.
Furthermore, technology is integrated into the patterns
processes, whether printing brand-provided
cutting patterns or using an electronic Pattern
Design System to create cutting patterns on-site.
These allow factories and brands to maintain quality
standards and reduce waste. And RFID (or other
tracking systems) remain on the horizon. While
they have been slow to catch on, these technologies
could prove disruptive if brands insist on their
suppliers being part of a fully electronic supply
chain tracking system.
5
McKinsey & Co., “Sourcing
in a Volatile World: The East
Africa Opportunity,” April 2015.
6
Takahiro Fukunishi, “The
Kenyan Garment Industry: Is it
able to revive in the economic
boom?” January 2012.
7
Supra note 5.
8
Ibid.
9
USAID, “U.S. Apparel End-
Market Analysis,” August 2012.
Path to market for Kenyan designers
There are four primary paths to market for Kenyan
designers who want to sell their products globally:
wholesale, e-commerce, retail stores, or
brand partnerships. For example, Indego Africa,
a successful Rwandan social enterprise selling
African-style handicrafts to the U.S. market, sells
roughly 15-20% through e-commerce, 45-60%
through wholesale, and the remainder through
brand partnerships. See box below for an overview
of each of these paths, their relative strengths and
weaknesses, and how to access each.
Each of these requires a substantial presence in
your target global market. It will be extremely difficult
to run a brand for a global market exclusively
from Kenya. Providing market linkages is a useful
service for a global organization to provide on an
on-going basis for designers that are too small to
support the infrastructure on their own. For example,
the Bhavana World Project is a non-profit that
works to promote women’s economic empowerment
by connecting women in emerging markets
to international business opportunities, playing
essentially this market linkages role for female
artisans to help provide them with global reach.
Target-market presence is critical, first of all, to
The Kenyan Textile And Fashion Industry Report
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